Lapse of time is only so far
important, and its importance in this respect is great, that it gives a
better chance of beneficial variations arising and of their being selected,
accumulated, and fixed. It likewise tends to increase the direct action of
the physical conditions of life, in relation to the constitution of each
organism.
If we turn to nature to test the truth of these remarks, and look at any
small isolated area, such as an oceanic island, although the number of the
species inhabiting it is small, as we shall see in our chapter on
Geographical Distribution; yet of these species a very large proportion are
endemic,--that is, have been produced there and nowhere else in the world.
Hence an oceanic island at first sight seems to have been highly favourable
for the production of new species. But we may thus deceive ourselves, for
to ascertain whether a small isolated area, or a large open area like a
continent, has been most favourable for the production of new organic
forms, we ought to make the comparison within equal times; and this we are
incapable of doing.
Although isolation is of great importance in the production of new species,
on the whole I am inclined to believe that largeness of area is still more
important, especially for the production of species which shall prove
capable of enduring for a long period, and of spreading widely. Throughout
a great and open area, not only will there be a better chance of favourable
variations, arising from the large number of individuals of the same
species there supported, but the conditions of life are much more complex
from the large number of already existing species; and if some of these
many species become modified and improved, others will have to be improved
in a corresponding degree, or they will be exterminated.
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